Results of the third Xinjiang comprehensive scientific investigation released

China News Service, Urumqi, October 10 (Hu Jiachen) The results conference of the third comprehensive scientific expedition to Xinjiang (referred to as the "scientific expedition") was held in Urumqi on the 10th.

This scientific expedition was launched in 2021, and a total of more than 6,400 scientific expedition team members have been organized, focusing on water resources, ecological environment, land agriculture, biodiversity and biological resources, mineral energy and other fields.

The scientific survey found that in the past 30 years, Xinjiang's climate has become significantly warmer and humid, the amount of water resources has increased, and the average annual river runoff has increased by about 10 billion cubic meters compared with the previous 40 years. In the next 20 to 40 years, the amount of water in Xinjiang's mountainous areas is expected to maintain high fluctuations and an increasing trend.

Xinjiang's ecology continues to develop for the better, with the area of ​​desertification and desertified land achieving "double reduction", the area of ​​​​oasis has increased by 45,500 square kilometers, and the area of ​​high-risk areas for wind and sand disasters has shrunk by 30%.

The overall abundance and diversity of biological species in Xinjiang are on the rise. Scientific research identified 315 species of halophytes in Xinjiang, discovered 33 new species, added 243 new species recorded in China or Xinjiang, and obtained more than 300 stress resistance genes.

Scientific research has found that there are more than 22 million acres of contiguous selenium-rich soil belt in the Tarim Basin; the proven oil-rich coal reserves in the Tuha Basin are 77.5 billion tons.

For the first time, the scientific expedition constructed a multinational “National Protection Responsibility Quantitative Assessment Framework”, providing a methodological basis for scientifically delineating cross-border protection responsibilities and promoting the construction of cross-border ecological corridors.

It is reported that the scientific research results have benefited countries in Central Asia and Africa co-building the “Belt and Road”. For example, we promote the application of desertification control and modern agricultural technology in Central Asia and Africa, with a cumulative promotion area of ​​more than 20,000 acres.

Xiao Wenjiao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the scientific expedition has systematically constructed a background data set and theoretical framework for resources and environment in arid areas for the first time at the scientific level. The theoretical results are being transformed into planning, policy and industrial practice, benefiting the people.